Return to the Wilderness
by AnnaBumbleby
Summary: What if Johanna was upbeat and adventurous, and what if Hilda was snooty and introverted. Personalities swap, making Johanna a 'fun' mom. But what happens when Johanna goes too far? She decides to move back to the wilderness with her daughter. As Johanna finds adventure and romance in the woods, Hilda is on an race to find out where her father is. Moved from Wattpad.
1. Chapter 1: The School

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.  
The quiet clicking of the clock was driving Johanna wild.  
No, not wild. She wanted to be wild. She wanted to be outside. This clock was driving her insane.  
Looking away from her computer, her eyes landed on the window overlooking the city.  
"Figures." She mumbled, annoyed at the fact there was no actual wilderness. She missed the cabin.  
Johanna closed her eyes, digging deep into her memories. She would run across the pasture under a formation of Woffs. They were always cozy creatures. Some would even let her ride on its back. It was sometimes scary, but what's an adventure without fear.  
"Pearson!" A sharp voice brought Johanna to reality. Johanna's supervisor, Nadia, stood in front of her desk.  
Nadia was stick-thin, and had a lob of messy orange hair tied in a bun. She wore too tight suits, and if Johanna could use one word to describe her, she would use "dry."  
"Boss wants these done, now." Nadia said, dropping a stack of thick paper onto the desk. Right over Johanna's current project. She sighed loudly, as Nadia walked away, her heels clicking into the hardwood of the office floor.

In the other side of Trolberg, Johanna's daughter, Hilda, was currently finishing a quiz. She was confident in her abilities, being the smartest girl in class. Her brains were only rivaled by her best friend, David.  
David was excellent in the Sparrow Scouts, and was clean, neat and tidy. His desk was a few feet away from Hilda, and he was almost done with his quiz as well.  
The third in the trio of friends was Frida. She was a cowardly and shy girl, but had strong pipes. She wasn't as smart and fast as her friends, and was rushing to finish the quiz.  
"_What is the capital of Norway?_" Frida thought. How would she know that?  
"Frida! Please finish your quiz while recess starts." Ms. Hallgrimm said, her arms folded.  
Everyone had went outside to play, Hilda and David included. Frida sighed as she started to take her time on the paper.

Outside, Hilda stood near the school, watching the other kids play. She wore her blue hair in low pigtails, with a black headband with a bow on the top of her head, and wore a red peter pan collared dress, with white tights and black mary janes. Very fancy, compared to her friends.  
"You're not going to play?" A little girl waddled up to Hilda. This girl had short brown hair and wore a pink jacket.  
"No thanks. My mother and I have a party to go to after school, and I need to look perfect." Hilda replied, side eying this little girl. She had a pink bow on her head, similar to Hilda's own bow.  
Now that she thought about it, a lot of the girls wore bows. It started after Hilda came to the school.  
"Hey Hilda." David said, joining his friend at the side of the school. He wore a basic school uniform. "How come you're not-"  
"David! I'm a trendsetter!" Hilda exclaimed, putting her hands on his shoulders.  
"Huh?" David raised his eyebrows, as Hilda turned his head towards the children playing in the yard.  
"Look at what they have on their heads." Hilda pointed out, smiling smugly.  
"Oh. Cool. Anyways, why aren't you wearing a uniform?" David asked once more, looking at Hilda's dress.  
"The school dress code says formal-casual. This counts." Hilda replied, folding her arms. "Loophole!" She smirked, causing Daivd to just smile and nod.  
"I'm here! I'm here!" Frida called, running out of the schoolhouse. She stood in the yard, looking for Hilda and David, right as the bell rang, signalling recess was over.  
The stream of children went back inside, leaving Frida to simply turn around and walk back.  
"Finish your work earlier." Hilda advised Frida, as the three walked back inside.

As the school day ended, Johanna pulled up to the school. Most parents waited in the cars for their kids, but Johanna was something special.  
She didn't really bother with appearance. She wore a white long sleeved under a red short sleeved sweater, with a yellow scarf, and jeans. Her hair was a wild mane of brown fluff with a beret on top. Very contrasting to Hilda, which is why Hilda was dreading her mother picking her up.  
Usually Johanna worked late, and Hilda was picked up by David's parents and dropped off at home. Not today.  
"Hilda!" Johanna's shrill excitement blasted through the yard. The other students looked at Hilda, some snickering.  
"Oh no…" Hilda mumbled, her cheeks red from sheer embarrassment.  
"Maybe she can't hear me." Johanna mumbled. She ran over to her car, and pulled out a megaphone that she had got for work.  
"Hilda, is that your mom?" Frida asked, eyeing Johanna.  
"**HILDA! IT'S ME, YOUR MOM, JOHANNA!**" Johanna yelled into the megaphone.  
Everyone was aware now. Hilda was red as a tomato as she shuffled past the other snickering students, and into Johanna's car.  
"How was your day?" Johanna asked, tossing the megaphone into the back, and smiling at her blushing daughter.  
"Fine." Hilda replied, as Johanna buckled up. Hilda looked out the window and added, "Until now."


	2. Chapter 2: The Last Straw

"Are you ready yet?" Hilda asked, leaning on the door frame of Johanna's room. The little girl was dressed up in her dress, but now her pigtails were taken out and her hair was curled. She was ready for this party, but Johanna was struggling.  
"Just give me a bit…" Johanna mumbled, struggling to comb her poofy brown hair. She wasn't even dressed yet, and wore a white t-shirt and brown sweatpants.  
"Ugh." Hilda rolled her eyes, turning on her heel and walking back to her room. The pet deerfox, Twig, pawed at her ankles. Hilda half smiled, before shooing Twig to Johanna's room, as she entered her own room.

Hilda's room was very neat and tidy, and the main attraction was the closet full of fluffy dresses. Hilda walked into her closet, pushing past it all, and poking into the back, where a small shoebox sat.  
Hilda sat on her bed, and opened the box. The warm smell of men's cologne came from the box, and Hilda smiled. It was such a distant smell, but one she missed.  
Hilda pushed stuff around, picking up a picture. Her mother was looking the other way at something off camera, while Hilda's dad held baby Hilda, and looked at the camera with a grin.  
Her father had a muscular build and a big bushy beard. He wore red flannel and blue jeans. A perfect fit for Johanna.  
So why did he leave?

"Ah, Pearson. You look lovely!" Johanna was greeted by a thick woman with short blonde hair. She wore a sleek black gown, and had a huge smile.  
"Why, thank you, Debby." Johanna greeted nervously. She was terrible at social interactions. Hilda stood at her side, loving the pure gossip she heard from simply standing around.  
As a child, nobody expected her to be paying attention. She held onto many secrets, but longed to release a few of these to her mother, but Johanna blurted out every secret she's told. Except one.  
What happened to Johanna's husband?

"Yes. That's her." A woman said, drawing Hilda's attention. The woman was thin, with cherry-red hair in a bun on her head. She was dressed in a pink satin gown.  
"That's Johanna?" The woman's friend asked. The friend was plump, with dark skin and black hair. She wore a shiny red dress.  
"Indeed. She used to live in a cabin." The women shared looks of disgust.  
"I heard her daughter is a star student." The friend remarked. Hilda smiled to herself, not really caring about the opinions of her mother.

Hilda wandered around the party, heading to the hors d'oeuvres, before a blonde stood in her path.  
She was a teenager, and her blonde hair was in pigtails. She wore a pink dress, and her arms were folded.  
"_Excuse_ me." Hilda said, trying to move past the girl, who scowled, and stood in front of Hilda still.  
"Go back to your mommy." The teen taunted. She glanced towards Johanna, who wasn't even talking to adults anymore. She was looking out the window of the house, staring longingly at the outdoors.

"I feel bad for that daughter of hers. She takes care of herself better than Johanna does." The woman from earlier chuckled.  
"I heard she's been fired for every job she's worked here." Another added.  
"Makes sense."

The words swirled around Johanna, who heard it all. She was in her own world, looking out the window. Why were adults acting so immaturely and calling her these names.  
She ignored it, fiddling with her hands, when she saw a figure in the forest.  
A hulder! She abruptly got up and ran outside, drawing a lot of attention.

"Mum?" Hilda mumbled, seeing her mother run outside. She didn't follow, and moved past the teenager blocking the snacks, but was stopped once more. The teen grabbed Hilda by the wrist.  
"What are _you_ even doing here?" The girl asked, glaring at Hilda.  
"I could ask you the same thing." Hilda shot back.

"Is she in the river?!" One of the partygoers exclaimed.  
"Johanna Pearson, I swear…" Another added.  
"Go babysit your mother, dork." The girl taunted, flicking Hilda on the nose.  
Hilda ran over to the window, and saw her mother swimming across the river to the forest outside the house. She was mortified, as she ran outside, amidst all the laughing and mocking.

Johanna stared at the creature standing in front of her. It was a humanoid creature with a tail. She read about these. A Hulder.

This one had silky black hair, pulled into a ponytail. She wore a dark blue dress, with a black vest, with white sleeves underneath.

Johanna stayed behind the tree, her cheeks pink. Usually these creatures were rare to find, and hardly acted like humans. This one was different.

The hulder stopped and sat down on a log, leafing her fingers through her smooth hair. She kept glancing around, and Johanna made sure to hide behind a tree. Her cheeks were hot. Last time she felt this way was when she met her husband at a camp when she was young. Why was she feeling this way? Was it the smell of the oak? The natural and fresh air? Her thoughts were racing but she was cut out of the daydream.

"I can sense you, Human." The hulder spoke. Her voice was like a bell. A faint tinge of a scottish accent hinted her voice. It was very pretty, and Johanna blushed, carefully stepping out from behind the tree.  
"Uh. Hi." Johanna waved awkwardly. A cool shiver went down her back, and she wished she was wearing her sweater.  
"A female. Interesting." The Hulder observed, rising to her feet. She walked towards Johanna.  
"Hehehehe…" Johanna was full on blushing now, and it was clear that to the Hulder.  
"I suppose it's just my charm." The Hulder shrugged. "Alas, I cannot help it."

That's right! Johanna remembered what she had read about the Hulder. They were seductive creatures, especially female. So it wasn't Johanna's fault that all this was happening. Or was it?

The Hulder was very close to Johanna, looking her up and down. Her tail curled around Johanna's ankles, causing her to giggle from the tickle.  
Upon closer, Johanna could see the Hulder had muscles that could faintly be seen under the thin clothing. Her closeness made Johanna feel weird, and looking at the creature-

"Mum!" Hilda shouted, from the other side of the river. The hulder gasped, letting go of Johanna. She smirked over her shoulder, before dashing into the woods like a deer.  
"Hilda! Hi…" Johanna turned around to face her daughter, who looked humiliated.  
"What are you even doing?!" The little girl shouted. "Everyone at the party is-"  
"Hilda, I don't give a damn." Johanna replied, folding her arms.  
"Mum-"  
"No! All my life, I've been mocked. And I don't care." Johanna glanced to the house where the party was. She saw the eyes of the women at the party staring out at her. Johanna put up two middle fingers.  
"Mum! Stop!" Hilda yelled.  
"No. I'm not stopping. I'm heading home. And we're moving out here." Johanna turned, and walked to the car. Oh right, the river. She waded through, and went to her car.  
Hilda stood on the bank of the river, frowning as she watched her mother dry off.


	3. Chapter 3: The Hulderwood

The car moved along the dusty road, winding over hills and rocky roads.  
Hilda grumbled, her nose deep into her book as the car escaped the cities, and out to the woods.  
"I can't wait!" Johanna exclaimed, gazing out the window as she drove.  
"Mum!" Hilda snapped her mother back into attention. She then rolled her eyes, looking back to the book.  
"Hilda, lighten up! Maybe we can see troll rocks!" Johanna exclaimed, tapping her steering wheel.  
"Yeah, and maybe they'll scare you back home." Hilda replied, grumbling.

Hilda had fallen asleep in the car, and by the time she had awoken, they had arrived to their new home.  
A small two-story cottage, in a clearing right smack in the middle of the valley.  
Johanna was already unpacking, but it was clear she wanted to run into the forest, and frolick.  
"Have we always have this house here?" Hilda asked, rubbing her eyes. Twig tried to lick her face, and she frowned, shaking her head at the deerfox.  
"Yes, actually!" Johanna swung her rolling suitcase out of the trunk. "My grandfather built this!"  
"Huh…" Hilda got out, grabbing her own suitcase. "How much service does the TV get here?" She asked, clearly uninterested in everything happening.  
"Sorry sweetie." Johanna patted Hilda on the shoulder. "All we have is the dvd's from home."  
"No!" Hilda yelled, as the two walked in.

Nearby, the Hulder that Johanna had met before, caught her breath. She pressed her back against a large oak, miles away from the house where the party was. Her heart raced, and she smiled.  
Her kind was meant for hurt and pain. Her species were the sirens of the forests. They would lure men to their death.  
But Johanna wasn't a man, and the warm feelings that the Hulder felt were real.  
"Anselma!" A sharp voice broke the Hulder's attention. She turned, looking over the side of the oak.  
Her commander, Lady Everfrost stood, her hands behind her back. She was tall, thin, and had pale blue skin. Ice crept up her skin and her white hair was in a tight bun. She wore an old gown with a fur wrapping around the skirt.  
She contrasted greatly to Anselma, who had long black hair, that flowed as she moved. Her skin was a creamy white, almost a tan.  
"My Lady." Anselma dropped to her knees in a bow, earning a nod from her commander.  
"You were seen letting a human escape." Everfrost said, striding past Anselma.  
"She was female." Anselma protested. "And I had witnesses."  
"You know very well what we do with women in our ranks." Everfrost replied. She stopped at the bank of a brook, and knelt. She placed her hand over the water, just barely touching. The water fizzled, before frosting over.  
"I know." Anselma sighed, folding her arms. Her tail twitched in annoyance.  
"Stop lying to me." Everfrost defrosted the brook, and turned to Anselma.  
"I wasn't-" Anselma was cut off, by ice crawling up her skin. Everfrost stood, her palm pressed against the Huldra's arm.  
"Tell me what we do with the women." Everfrost said calmly, her piercing white eyes gazing into Anselma's chocolate eyes.  
"We see if they can bear children, and give them the blessing of life to birth more Huldra. If they are unfit to birth, they are killed and cooked alive." Anselma replied, nervously looking at the ice on her arm.  
"Good, good." Everfrost snapped her fingers, and the ice melted away.  
"Phew." Anselma breathed a sigh of relief.  
"You are to find the human, and bring her to me." Everfrost commanded. "Then I and the other season commanders will personally choose her fate."  
Anselma gulped, her mind racing. Everfrost was the scariest of the four commanders, but they all were as strong as her.

Rosie was the commander of spring, and her plant manipulation powers were dangerous. If being strangled wasn't scary enough, she could also make poisonous plants.  
Solina was the firey commander of the summer, and she is very dangerous. She's got a firey temper, and firey hands. People were careful with what they said around her when she was mad, but she overall keeps a sunny outlook.  
Hazel ruled the autumn and just like the season, is the quiet and overlooked one. Solina and Everfrost try to control her season, and it's clear Hazel doesn't like how things are ran.  
"Are you listening to me?" Everfrost cut in, the other commanders floating out of Anselma's thoughts.  
"Yes. Sorry." Anselma saluted, turning away from Everfrost, who nodded, racing into the woods like a deer.

Johanna stood on a small hill that overlooked the cabin. Her fluffy brown hair flowed in the wind, and she inhaled the all natural smell, exhaling with a grin.  
"Nature sure is pretty, eh Twig?" Johanna said to the Deerfox circling around her ankles.  
Hilda was back in the cabin, trying to get the TV to work, while Johanna set out to explore.  
She wandered for an hour, running under the woff migration, drawing a troll rock, and crossing the river.  
She stopped by the bank alongside the river for a quick snack.  
As she sat down with her cucumber sandwich, she noticed her reflection in the water.  
Except, it wasn't hers.


	4. Chapter 4: The Huldraroot

Anselma expected Johanna to freak out, as her sudden appearance would've been scary to most, but was surprised by the smiling of her face.

"Hi! You came back!" Johanna said, smiling as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"You remember me?" Anselma asked cautiously. She knew Everfrost wanted the human alive, but Anselma just couldn't.

"Of course! I've been urging to see you again!" Johanna grinned. "Are you a Huldra?"

"I-" Anselma knew she couldn't answer that, so she silently nodded.

"Oh my gosh!" Johanna almost dropped her sandwich, but caught it quickly.

"Are you okay…?" Anselma asked quietly, stifling a smile.

"Yep! I'm fine!" Johanna chuckled. "I've just always wanted to learn about your kind!"  
"My kind?" Anselma's throat tightened, and she was taken aback. "Do you think of us as some kind of animal?"

"I- No. That's not what I meant!" Johanna nervously chewed on her lip.

Anselma was quiet, glancing into the water.

"We were just like humans until the great troll invasion." Anselma started, causing Johanna to look up.

Meanwhile, Hilda had gotten bored of the TV, and noticed her mum was gone. In her boredom, she carefully snuck into the master bedroom, hoping to find some stuff about her father, since he used to live here.

All that she could find was a shiny plastic crown, and a wooden guitar.

Figures. Dad was gone, but why? What did Mum do…?

Hilda waddled to her room, and flopped down on the bed. As she looked up at the ceiling, she noticed, glow and the dark stars.

Weird, Hilda never liked those. So why were they in her room from her childhood?

"Hulda have control over nature. The people of Trollberg firmly believed that rock Huldras forced Trolls to attack us." Anselma, sat on the bank of the river with Johanna, who was firmly invested in the story. Or was she? Was she listening, or admiring this strong beautiful nature woman?

"This caused a silent war between us. Humans that waged the war have long been gone, but we Huldra never forget. We've since converted dozens of female humans into Huldra."

"Wait, really?" This snapped Johanna out of her daze.

"Yes. A huldra root is a magical root that when used on a human, is able to give a female human the life of a Huldra. We mostly use humans to provide us with full Huldras, since part human doesn't get power."

Johanna looked visibly confused, to which Anselma sighed.

"Okay, so there's a purebred Huldra. Her mother was human, but with the Huldraroot, she was able to have a Huldra child." Anselma explained softly. "It's a painless process too, the root is just waved over the female human, or sometimes fed the root in soup, and they now carry a baby."

Johanna nodded slowly. "So um. Why are you telling me this?"

"I am not allowed to keep you alive after knowing this, unless you decide to join us, as a mother Huldra." Anselma said softly.

"But I have a kid of my own!" Johanna protested.

"I know. She'll be okay though." Anselma said softly.

"I'm not going to go with you." Johanna said firmly.

"I know you won't." Anselma sighed, pulling a Huldra Root from her dress pocket. In an instant, Johanna was out cold.


	5. Chapter 5: The Father

"Did you do it?"

"Is she awake?"

"Let me see the human!"  
Johanna woke with a start, her eyes wide with fear. She couldn't move, and she was in a very tight spot, literally.

Blinking a few times, Johanna realized she had been crammed into a hollow tree, her face peeking out of a hole. She could see Anselma standing with other Huldra.

The other huldra were beautiful, with flowers weaved through their wild hair.

Some of the Huldra waded in the river, singing lovely songs.

"Hey!" Johanna shouted. "Let me out of here!"  
Anselma turned, leaves falling from her black ponytail.

"She's up!" The other Huldra exclaimed, galloping towards Johanna's tree. She gasped, closing her eyes.

Back at the cabin, Hilda was starting to get worried.

She went back into her parents room, looking back to the crown and guitar, and tilted her head.

"Those are mine." A voice said, coming from behind Hilda.

"Hold on!" Anselma lept in front of the others, her arms outstretched, blocking Johanna's view. "She's still forming, give her some time!"  
"Forming?! What the hell did you do to me?" Johanna thrashed around, and the hollow tree fell onto its side.

"Johanna, stop-" Anselma reached out, but Johanna had a plan. She threw her body to the right, and the log began to roll, due to the slanted path they were on.

"She's heading for the big rock!" One of the Huldra women yelled.

"Perfect." Johanna thought, as she felt the log hit the rock. The impact was enough to crack the log, freeing her.

"Johanna, wait, please!" Anselma exclaimed, reaching her hand out, as Johanna pulled herself up, and began to sprint back to the cabin.

"Who.. are you?" Hilda turned, gazing down at the… thing… that stood in the doorway. It seemed to be a person made out of wood, with a little leaf attached to his head, which was not attached to his body.

"Hilda, you really don't-" The creature looked down at his body. "Oh. Right."

"Wait… are you…-"

"HILDA!" Johanna burst into the cabin, panting from out of breath. She frantically locked the door, and Hilda could hear her rummaging around.

"Mum? What's going on?" Hilda asked, walking past the wooden man.

"We need to go back to Trollberg, now!" Johanna said, shoving her clothes back into her luggage.

"Wait, mum!" Hilda looked concerned, watching Johanna.

Johanna turned, and her eyes widened at the sight of Woodman. She dropped her luggage, and gasped.

"Woody…" Johanna whispered, her hands trembling.

"Hmph. Glad someone recognizes me." Woodman walked up to Johanna. He was the same height as Hilda, which looked odd in comparison.

"Mind telling me what's going on?!" Hilda asked, before finally piecing it together. "Dad..." Hilda's mouth dropped, and she stared at the two.

"Uh, curse." Johanna shrugged, like it was such a normal thing.

"Of course.." Hilda sighed, looking to the two. "How do we reverse it? And why did you guys separate?!"

"Questions later! We need to go!" Johanna suddenly realized the herd of Huldra would soon be upon them.

The family squeezed into the car, with Hilda and Woody in the back, as Johanna drove.

"And so your mum and I ticked off a witch, who cursed us both." Woody said to Hilda, finishing up an epic tale.

"Mum, you're cursed?" Hilda asked, eying her mother.

"Yep. I won't tell you what though." Johanna winked at Woody, who stayed stoic.

"But how do we bring Dad back to himself? And why did you seperate?" Hilda continued.

"Well, we could always try the librarian witch back at Trollberg, she'll need payment." Woody said. "As for the latter question, we didn't want you to grow up with a tree as a father, so we broke up."

"I just fell in love with a crazy nature spirit, so I'm relieved I can be with you again, regardless that you're wooden." Johanna chuckled.

"Not for long." Woody laughed.

And so, the family went to the witch, and offered cash, as well as books for the library. Johanna wanted to become a witch, but Woody and Hilda wanted their lives back.

Things got a lot calmer between Hilda and Johanna, as Woody became the middle ground. The fun one for his wife, and the serious one for his daughter.

What became of the Huldra, you ask?

_That's another story…._


End file.
